Assessment of the Utility of Plusoptix A09 Handheld Photo-refractometer in Screening Refractory Errors and Amblyopia in Children

Abstract The aim of this study is to find out the frequency of anisometropic amblyopia in children and to increase awareness about this disease. All children between the ages of 4 and 10 years who were attending 11 kindergarten and primary schools determined by provincial directorate for national education in the center of Malatya were included. A screening team including interns and a resident from the Department of Pediatrics have used Plusoptix A09 handheld photo-refractometer device for detecting amblyopia and its reasons. A total of 7,000 students were screened. The mean age of the students was 7.4 ± 2 years. Amblyopia was suspected in 357 cases with the Plusoptix S09 screening. After eye examinations performed by an ophthalmologist, 303 cases were found to have pathologic eye examination. Amblyopia was found in 67 (18.8%) of the 303 cases, and anisometropic amblyopia was found in 59 of 67 cases. As a result of the screening, sensitivity of Plusoptix A09 was found to be 88.1%, while its specificity was found to be 88.6%. Its positive predictive value was found to be 64.0% and its negative predictive value was found to be 97.0%. We believe that with screenings performed by health professionals who are given short-term training by using a device that can conduct remote measurements, detection of anisometropic amblyopia, which is the most frequent reason for amblyopia, can be done in a fast and relatively less expensive way and with the minimum number of specialist physician required. This way, children with amblyopia can reach the ophthalmologist earlier for treatment.